


The Time to be Happy

by chess_ka



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-25
Updated: 2012-02-25
Packaged: 2017-10-31 17:55:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/346833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chess_ka/pseuds/chess_ka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin has a really bad birthday. For the most part.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Time to be Happy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theimprobable1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theimprobable1/gifts).



Everything about this trip to Bali had been _awful_. 

Carolyn was once again trying to cut back on any “unnecessary costs”, including feeding her pilots. Unfortunately she had neglected to give them notice of this, so Douglas hadn't managed to cook and they hadn't brought any other food with them. This meant Arthur's cooking, with all of its requisite creativity and lack of taste. Following this, GERTI had decided that she no longer needed her number one hydraulics system as they went in to land, necessitating an overlong stay at the airport following their landing and the inevitable phone call to Carolyn to explain that they were having to pay extensive engineers' bills. 

When they finally escaped the airport, with the dire warnings of the engineer that they may not be able to fly out first thing in the morning as planned, they found their hotel. It was small, cramped, and smelt suspiciously of cat wee. To top it off, they had double-booked one of the rooms. This left them with two single beds and three fully-grown men, two of whom were getting increasingly irritated with the former and his bizarre delight at the whole situation.

Feeling claustrophobic and tetchy, Martin left the room to try and call Henry, only to find that the hotel appeared to be in a total blackspot and he was unable to get any signal. Not only did this mean that he was cut off from the one thing guaranteed to make him calm down and smile, it was a severe disruption to his routine. There was not much chance for a routine in the world of the charter airline, particularly MJN, so he clung tightly to what he could, and talking to Henry every night he was away was at the top of his list. 

The night was exceedingly uncomfortable: the room was small and musty, and the mattresses seemingly made entirely of springs. Martin got barely any sleep, considering he was having to share with Arthur. He spent most of the night curled against the wall, trying to block out Arthur's snores, which were just as exuberant as his voice in his waking hours. Martin may have been used to sleeping in the same bed as Henry, when they would curl together tightly and wake up in a close tangle of limbs, but Arthur tended to sprawl across the bed, leaving Martin with no room whatsoever.

Things did not improve the next day. They got to the airport ready for an early take-off, but found that the engineers had not even _begun_ to fix GERTI. Their airport fees steadily climbing, they retired to the crew canteen, where they tried to drink the swill that was masquerading as coffee and imagining the dire punishments Carolyn would visit on their persons when they arrived home.

“This may even trump my twentieth as my worst birthday ever,” Martin muttered, still trying to find some sort of signal on his phone. 

“Why, what happened on your twentieth?”

“I found out that I'd failed my CPL again, lost my flat keys, got caught in the rain when I already had flu, and eventually wound up in hospital with pneumonia.”

“And this is worse?”

“I didn't have to share a bed in hospital. Nor did I have the wrath of Carolyn waiting for me at the end of it.”

“Good point.”

Bali, Martin decided by mid-afternoon, had an absolutely _hateful_ airport. Of course, any airport became hateful when they delayed your take-off by eight hours, but this one was spectacularly bad. He almost cheered when ATC finally radioed through with their clearance for take-off.

The sixteen hour flight dragged interminably. Their word games didn't seem to pass the time as much as usual, and the bad night's sleep and hours of waiting were beginning to tell: Arthur took refuge in the cabin when Douglas and Martin's tempers began to fray, their usual banter and friendly jibes becoming snappish and personal. By the sixth hour, they were barely speaking at all apart from to pass terse requests for the weather or fuel checks. 

By the time they finally landed, sixteen hours later, it was almost three in the morning. Martin was strung out and exhausted, and he could barely wait to get home and curl up in bed with Henry, who he hadn't spoken to since they _left_ for Bali. He had sent a text on landing on the off-chance that Henry's unusual sleeping habits would find him awake, but there had been no reply.

So he did something he'd never done before: he left the paperwork for later and went home. 

The flat was dark when he finally pulled up. He opened the door quietly, not wanting to disturb Henry if he was actually sleeping properly, dropping his bag and his heeling off his shoes. Going through the living room, he saw a small line of light coming from under the closed bedroom door. It seemed that Henry wasn't actually asleep after all, and Martin's heart rose, warmth spreading through his chest. He felt tension seeping from his shoulders just at the knowledge that in a moment he would be able to see Henry smile, feel strong arms wrap around him.

The sight that greeted him on opening the door made his mind go rather blank: Henry, lying on his side on their bed with his head propped up on one arm. There was something of a coquettish smirk about his lips as he raised the other arm over his head, flexing the muscles, and lifting one leg flirtatiously. The image was set off with a white vest that showed off the muscles of his arms and shoulders, and a pair of rather tight black briefs.

Martin stared at him for a moment, and then did the only thing possible: he burst into hysterical giggles. 

Henry raised one eyebrow and sniffed disdainfully. “Well, I won't bother making an effort in future,” he said sternly, though he was unable to prevent a smile.

“You... are utterly... ridiculous.” Martin choked out. “Oh my God, I can't believe you... Why do you even _own_ those pants?”

“Do you not like what you see?” Henry was grinning openly now, tossing his head back and raising a hand to his head in a dramatic gesture. “I'm hurt, Martin. I thought you found me attractive.”

“I do,” Martin managed to say between giggles. He tugged off his jacket and crossed to the bed, kneeling on it and crawling to Henry to kiss him. “You're very attractive. And very silly.”

Henry was laughing against his mouth, relaxing his attempt at a seductive pose and falling back on the bed and winding his arms around Martin's neck. “Happy birthday, love,” he murmured, nipping at Martin's lower lip.

Martin pulled back, smiling down at his partner. All the tension and annoyance of the last few days had been soothed away from his mind; all that mattered was that he was home, finally, back where he could be truly happy. He nuzzled Henry's jaw.

“It is now.”

**Author's Note:**

> [The image that inspired this whole thing.](http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzwxdmwm8V1qb15jko1_500.jpg)


End file.
